Minutes of the Basingstoke & Deane Over 55’s Annual General Meeting held on

Wednesday 10thDecember 2014

Action
Present:218 members attended as indicated on the register.
1. OPENING STATEMENT
The Chairman, Graham Finlayson (GF), opened the AGM and reminded any non members present that they were welcome to stay for the AGM but should not vote.
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS AGM & MATTERS ARISING
Copies of the Minutes of the 2013 AGM could be seen on the Forum’s web site or may be requested from the Secretary. There were no matters arising from those Minutes.
3. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Copies of the Annual Reports from the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and the Annual Accounts were sent out with the Agenda so GF summarised the key points from each report.
2014 has been a busy year for the Forum as we have organised special activities to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War, in addition to our regular events. Our membership continued to grow, to the extent that we had to place a "cap" on membership when it reached the figure of 660. We have set up a waiting list and, as the number of members drops (for example at renewal time), then places will be offered to those named on the list. This has been necessary as we are limited to numbers at the Carnival Hall and, despite our searches, there is no other venue in Basingstoke that can cater for larger numbers and offer the same facilities as the Hall.
The Forum was one of only 8 organisations from Hampshire nominated for Queen's Award for Voluntary Service and although we did not win, our Secretary, Gerald, did receive an award for local volunteers from the Mayor of Basingstoke & Deane. The Chairman and Secretary were honoured to represent the Forum at a Hampshire County Service at Winchester Cathedral, to commemorate the start of WW1.
Although the Accounts show a very small loss this year, the financial status of the Forum is still very healthy, due to the careful management of costs by the Committee. This year, we provided additional benefits, with a free coach trip to those members who travelled on at least 3 trips in 2013, free entry to the WW1 music and poetry afternoon, free New Age Kurling and we subsidised the single person supplement on the WW1 Battlefields trip. In addition, we continued to subsidise the weekly Core Fitness sessions.
Last year, we also offered a reduced membership renewal fee of £5 to those members who renewed their 2014 membership for 2014 before the end of December 2013. In addition to keeping the membership subscription at £6 for a further year, we are again offering the reduced fee of £5 to those who renew by 31st December 2014.
Thanks to the hard work by Marian Wilson, we have been able to send bimonthly Newsletters to all members, with items of interest and information about local and national issues, including a summary of the topics covered at the Open Forum meetings.
The Forum continues to raise matters of concern to its members and is recognised as a voice in the community for older people. We continue to hold regular meetings with our champion on the Borough Council, Cllr Osselton.
On the social side, our secretary arranged some fifteen coach trips during the year, many with two or more coaches, such was the demand. Especially popular were the visits to the Houses of Parliament where 4 separate trips were arranged. The free trips were organised on two separate days, visiting Gloucester.
At this year's Variety Show we welcomed back the Olde Tyme Professional Theatre Company from the New Forest with their new production "Lyrics and Laughter" which was again at AldworthCollege. The free New Age Kurling sessions at the Carnival Hall continued to be well supported and very popular, as a social event and an enjoyable form of exercise. The "Core Fitness" sessions at the Carnival Hall have also been enjoyed by a number of members.
4. TREASURERS REPORT
GF expressed thanks to our treasurer, Jane Farrow, for producing the detailed accounts during the year. He outlined the main features of the draft summary which was issued with the Agenda and displayed on screen. The audit of the Accounts has not yet been completed due to a bereavement suffered by our auditor and it is hoped to have approval by the February meeting.
The Accounts showed that the Committee had effectively managed the Forum’s costs,whilst increasing benefits, and there was still a healthy balance at the end of the year. The current balance will enable the Forum to continue to operate in 2014 which is likely to be another challenging year.
It is unfortunate that a small number of members have forced us to review the trip booking arrangements but it is hoped that the proposed changes will overcome the problem of late cancellations, with the consequent cost to the Forum.
5. SECRETARY’S REPORT
Social events during the year, especially the coach trips, continue to be very successful. We continued to use Trumans of Aldershot for the trips as they proved to be very reliable and competitively priced. However, we have suffered from a number of late cancellations this year which has resulted in several trips running at a loss as we were unable to resell the seats. This has been subsidised from the membership fees but this was not felt to be fair on those members who do not travel on the trips. Therefore, for the 2015 trips, we will, I am afraid, have to ask for payment at the time of booking. Refunds will only be made in exceptional circumstances.
The Carnival Hall has offers a readily accessible and suitably sized venue for the Open Forum meetings and we are appreciative of the support from the management at the Hall. Thanks are due to Basingstoke & Deane for their support and help in printing and distributing information to our members, with a special mention for June Balcombe who is always most helpful. We also greatly appreciated the generosity of a number of local organisations whodonated some great prizes for the raffle at the Variety Show.
6. ELECTION OF COMMITEE AND OFFICERS
Committee: As Committee members were elected for three years and the election took place last year, only the positions of Chairman and Secretary were due to be elected.
Chair: In the absence of any other nominations, Graham Finlayson agreed to stand for election as Chairman. Proposed byBrian Lambourne, seconded by Linda Lee and carried unanimously.
Secretary: No other nominations were received for the position of secretary and Gerald Merritt agreed to continue in the role. Proposed by Ellen James, seconded by Barbara Englefield and carried unanimously.
7. CLOSING COMMENTS
Forum member Brian Lambourne stood and asked those present to express their appreciation to the Chairman, Secretary and committee for all the work they did, including that which was "behind the scnes", with a round of applause. GF expressed thanks again to members of the Committee, their spouses and all other volunteers for their hard work and support. There being no further business, the Chairman closed the AGM.

Graham Finlayson

Chairman

Over 55’s Forum

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